Curious Behavior: Yawning, Laughing, Hiccupping, and Beyond

· Harvard University Press
Libër elektronik
288
Faqe

Rreth këtij libri elektronik

Robert Provine boldly goes where other scientists seldom tread—in search of hiccups, coughs, yawns, sneezes, and other lowly, undignified human behaviors. Upon investigation, these instinctive acts bear the imprint of our evolutionary origins and can be uniquely valuable tools for understanding how the human brain works and what makes us different from other species.

Many activities showcased in Curious Behavior are contagious, but none surpasses yawning in this regard—just reading the word can make one succumb. Though we often take it as a sign of sleepiness or boredom, yawning holds clues to the development of our sociality and ability to empathize with others. Its inescapable transmission reminds us that we are sometimes unaware, neurologically programmed beasts of the herd. Other neglected behaviors yield similar revelations. Tickling, we learn, may be the key to programming personhood into robots. Coughing comes in musical, medical, and social varieties. Farting and belching have import for the evolution of human speech. And prenatal behavior is offered as the strangest exhibit of all, defying postnatal logic in every way. Our earthiest acts define Homo sapiens as much as language, bipedalism, tool use, and other more studied characteristics.

As Provine guides us through peculiarities right under our noses, he beckons us to follow with self-experiments: tickling our own feet, keeping a log of when we laugh, and attempting to suppress yawns and sneezes. Such humble investigations provide fodder for grade school science projects as well as doctoral dissertations. Small Science can yield big rewards.

Rreth autorit

Robert R. Provine is a professor of neurobiology & psychology at the University of Maryland. His work has been featured in media around the world, including "The New York Times," "The Washington Post," "The Wall Street Journal," & "Good Morning America."

Vlerëso këtë libër elektronik

Na trego se çfarë mendon.

Informacione për leximin

Telefona inteligjentë dhe tabletë
Instalo aplikacionin "Librat e Google Play" për Android dhe iPad/iPhone. Ai sinkronizohet automatikisht me llogarinë tënde dhe të lejon të lexosh online dhe offline kudo që të ndodhesh.
Laptopë dhe kompjuterë
Mund të dëgjosh librat me audio të blerë në Google Play duke përdorur shfletuesin e uebit të kompjuterit.
Lexuesit elektronikë dhe pajisjet e tjera
Për të lexuar në pajisjet me bojë elektronike si p.sh. lexuesit e librave elektronikë Kobo, do të të duhet të shkarkosh një skedar dhe ta transferosh atë te pajisja jote. Ndiq udhëzimet e detajuara në Qendrën e ndihmës për të transferuar skedarët te lexuesit e mbështetur të librave elektronikë.